Storytelling with Data: Essential Storytelling Techniques
NSF Unidata hosted the Unidata Users Workshop, Storytelling with Earth System Science Data: Challenges and Opportunities for Effective, Ethical, and Reproducible Science, on 5-8 June 2023 in Boulder, Colorado. This selection of presentations focuses on essential storytelling techniques.
Presentations
Storytelling through weather prediction, climate services, and different datasets
Russ Schumacher This presentation sets the stage for the workshop through the lens of scientific storytelling with data. It highlights the grand challenges around Earth System Science data and emphasizes the impact and need for storytelling across various forums. The session draws attention to the opportunities inherent in this task and establishes a vision for collective progress with thoughtful effort. |
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The Story of the Story: How Narrative Coheres Information and Knowledge
Susan Jasko Storytelling extends beyond data visualization by fostering connections between authors and audiences. It motivates, educates, and engages. This session explores the significance of storytelling and its influence on communication, memory, understanding, knowledge, and connection. Examples from public safety and risk communication with the general public are examined. |
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Scientific Storytelling: Finding the Story with Data
Kim Klockow-McClain This session examines the intersection of weather and social science by exploring how to pair social data with meteorological data to evolve the forecast communication system. It progresses from this central question to investigating the types of data that can be leveraged, culminating in the generation of storylines that participants can build upon in their future contributions. |
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Storytelling: A Process, or Data in Context
Susan Jasko Storytelling serves as a powerful tool to engage and motivate audiences, making it essential for knowledge transfer and community understanding. By focusing on specific audiences and applying storytelling principles, meaningful and impactful experiences are created that effectively communicate data and insights, translating them into actionable intelligence. This session focuses on the practical building blocks of creating a story, particularly as they pertain to the workshop's Create Your Story project. |
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Create Your Story Project Part 1: Storytelling Tools
Nicole Corbin This session introduces a general structure for storytelling and presents various media options for the take-home project: a digital storytelling product. Options include a Story Map web app, a Jupyter Notebook, GitHub documentation, slideshow or video script, among others. By the end of this session, participants select a medium that aligns with their project objectives. |
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Create Your Story Project Part 2: Story Structure and Interdisciplinary Context
Nicole Corbin In this session, participants apply tools and techniques from earlier sessions to develop their take-home project: a digital storytelling tool. These working sessions are structured with a series of outcomes that build up to the final project. Working Session #2 focuses on building the story's structure and considering its interdisciplinary context. |
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Create Your Story Project Part 3: Ethical Data Usage and Analysis
Nicole Corbin Continuing the development of the take-home digital storytelling project, this session emphasizes the ethical use of data and analyses in storytelling. Participants incorporate narrative and graphical details into their stories. |
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Create Your Story Project Part 4: Open Data, Contributions, and Sharing Stories
Nicole Corbin This session offers an open working period for participants to consider how to share their stories, finalize details, and identify any pending tasks. The focus is on strategies for sharing stories and contributing to open data initiatives. |
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Details
Learning Series
Storytelling with Data
Intended Audience
Earth Systems scientists and students
Format
Video, Worksheet